Just Cause 3 Announced For PS4, Xbox One, PC

Avalanche Studios has finally announced the long-rumored third chapter in the Just Cause series. Just Cause 3 will launch on consoles and PC in 2015.

In the first two Just Cause games, players took on the role of secret agent Rico Rodriguez as he single-handedly toppled dictators. Rico can do it all: win a gun fight against hordes of enemies, drive or fly any vehicles he finds, and even hijack a helicopter in mid-air with his grappling hook.

Just Cause 3 seems like it will continue this tradition. Players will now be let loose in a string of islands somewhere in the Mediterranean. They'll be equipped with a wingsuit in addition to their grappling hook and reusable parachute.

"Just Cause has never played this smoothly, and as you’ll see in the cover story launching digitally today, it’s never looked this good," Game Informer announced today. The game is their December cover story. They'll also roll out exclusive coverage of the game throughout the month. Today they released this teaser trailer for their coverage:

Unlike Just Cause 2, Just Cause 3 won't be released on Xbox 360 or PS3. Instead, Avalanche Studios is developing the game for PS4, Xbox One and PC. JC2 was ridiculously ambitious, with 400 square miles of open-world, so I'm very curious to see what the developers can do without being constrained by last-gen technology.

Leaked screenshots from Just Cause 3 suggested that the game would be a free-to-play, microtransaction-driven experience. However, publisher Square Enix told GI that JC3 will be a full-priced title. That doesn't necessarily mean that there won't be microtransactions, though.

There's no mention of a multiplayer component in the Game Informer announcement. I wonder if that means that JC3 will be single-player-only as well. That would be a bit of a shame. The multiplayer mod for Just Cause 2was a blast and more than proved that the series deserves officially supported online modes. Even if JC3 is an single-player game, though, I have no doubt modders will quickly start creating multiplayer for the PC version.